Tuesday, March 30, 2010

I've always been in love with gates and little private gardens, the ones that you almost can't see from the road or side walk yet you can see just enough to know that it must be wonderful inside. I also love window boxes and vintage containers filled with flowers, brick patios and porch swings. Someday I will have a porch swing. These are the thoughts filling my head right now on this start to a beautiful run of good weather days. I cannot wait for flowers.

This picture is from a trip to German Village last summer with my friend Pam. There is no shortage of flowery, bricky beautifulness there. We wandered all afternoon with our cameras, it was really fun.

.....and then we had beer and creme puffs the size of your head. Here, at this very famous restaurant.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

For the last week I've been trying to prepare the house to sell. Don't worry my local friends, we are just trying to get a house with some property and some room to be able to accomplish some of the things we'd like to with the archery program, locally. I promise. Steve and I both grew up in rural areas with plenty of room to roam, and I guess it's inevitable that at some point you want to go back to your roots. Besides, we are starting to look like red-necks for our part of the burbs. Archery targets, a hunting dog, and a rather large truck and trailer are taking up most of this small real estate. If I don't get some land soon, next is a garden in my only sunny front yard and chickens in the back, this will be frowned upon. Urban farming my be in vogue in some places but it has not reached the suburbs of Y-town just yet. Soooo the hunt begins. I've been sorting through, thinning out and trying to stage a very lived in house. No small undertaking. Thanks to HGTV I've learned about curb appeal, getting the biggest bang for my buck and a thousand other what to-do's and what not-to-do's. But it all comes down to what's really important for your mystery buyer. It could be neat as a pin but they might not like split levels. They might not be able to overlook your color scheme as changeable as that ultimately is. They might not like that they have to go up the stairs and down some other stairs just to get to the kitchen from the garage, and the list could go on and on. So, as much as I've been wracking my brain to get into the head of this buyer, it is really just a fruitless exercise that is zapping my mental energy and making me crabby. Things will happen the way they are supposed to happen. This house could be exactly what somebody wants, it has a great back yard, great neighbors, it's a very quiet street in a great school district, and the list goes on and on. Focus on the positive is the song I am singing, it's going to be out of my hands very soon, and in the hands of a capable realtor. I will listen and obey his instructions. End of story, end of blog for today.

Just 1 last thing, I hope they are not members of PETA, because I could not get Deer Slayer to take any of the taxidermy off the walls. Maybe my lovely realtor can:)

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Recipe here, I used a mini donut pan instead of a muffin pan. The mini's only took about 8 minutes to bake, watch closely. The salad above is just a little tuna mixed with some cilantro, lime and mayo on a bed of lettuce and flat bread.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Monday, March 22, 2010

I know I should have waited for "Two Donut Thursday" but I couldn't, this donut was so pretty it begged me to take it's picture. I thought since Easter is just around the corner, why not try this on your table. It's dessert, decoration and napkin accessory all in one. Donut courtesy of Dunkin and plate courtesy of the Scott collection of vintage Fire-King. Happy beginning of the week everybody, it's going to be a good one, I can feel it.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

My sister graduated from nursing school on Friday. After years of hard work, she's finally done. I didn't realize that your friends and family actually did the pinning, it was pretty cool watching everyone go forward, parents, husbands, boyfriends, children, anybody significant to you. There were lots of thank-you's, hugs, and kisses. Nursing school is tough, you couldn't possibly leave there not knowing that. This picture isn't the best quality, (low light, nervous picture taker) but it still conveys the mood. Proud parents and relieved, thankful daughter.

Sister, in blue, wandering why she didn't finish college....hmmmm the ADD maybe? What in the world was I thinking in this picture, and who the heck took it???? By the way, sister in white-Original Donut Queen, you didn't know that did you, sister in blue, just a sorry want-to-be.

And here's the whole happy group, minus me. I was done with pictures after the last one.

Congratulations big sister, you waited a long time to be able to accomplish this dream, I'm so proud of you and I will buy you the biggest cream stick in the case...... after you pass the State Boards:)

Thursday, March 18, 2010

A blog with 'Donut' in the title certainly should have at least one post a week with donuts in it. Believe me, that won't be hard. So I'm going to challenge myself, we'll call it 'Two Donut Thursdays', and I can't use dated photos, or dated donuts. These two lovelies are from White House Fruit Farm , and it was difficult protecting the props until the shoot was over. Steve drank the prop coffee too. I was trying to take a new picture for the banner at the top of my blog, something that's more befitting the title. I don't think any of them will work for that, I'll keep trying. So we all ate the props in the end, it's hard but somebody has to do it. This is one of my vintage aprons from the ever growing collection, this one was brand new in the package when it shouted my name in the antique store. Maybe 'Donut Thursdays' will have a different apron every time too, yes, that sounds good. Well I hope you are all enjoying this weather, the lamb can stay as far as I'm concerned, and as always, I hope you are having a two donut day.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

This chalkboard hangs in my dining room. I change it whenever inspiration strikes. Sometimes it wishes my guests a simple 'Happy Birthday', and sometimes it stops you in your tracks, but most of the time it's just a simple quote that makes me feel good. I get the quotes from all different sources, just things that strike me when I read them, things I need to remind myself of. Sometimes the board is blank, that's not usually a good sign, but I'm not going to fill it just to fill it, it has to mean something. This quote just happened to come from Brin, one of my favorite bloggers. I think it is appropriate for spring as well as a appropriate for life in general. It's so easy to slip into neutral, to stop trying or to get tired. When the two feet of snow in my back yard melted away last week, there were 6 in. daffodils underneath it. I couldn't believe anything could be living and thriving underneath it, but there they were, persistent and growing despite what looked like a never ending layer of snow on top of them. I take my lesson from them this week, and it's a good one. The pictures below are what's happening in my yard as we speak. I love spring, have I told you that before?

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Taryn is constantly swiping my camera. She loves taking pictures, and is in that phase of doing everything I do, which we all know doing what I do is...well...pretty random at times. I should bottle her right now because I have a feeling that in another 6,7,8, or so years she's not going to want to follow me around and do anything I do. So any given day, I've got the camera on the table, probably just took pictures of breakfast, and next thing I know it's gone. It's a hoot to load them and see what she got. The following pictures are in order and in there raw form.

A camouflaged donut, do you see it?

Maggie, a pretty easy subject to capture, but then......

No, that's not quite right...

No...

Wait for it....

almost....

Ahhhh, there it is. Good job Taryn, oh and thanks for taking a picture of me too, is that cup bigger than my head?

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Yes, it's true, there is another contributor to this blog. You know because there might be days when I'm fresh out of ideas, dried up, fuzzy in the brain even. So I have this.He looks a little uninterested right now, but I assure you he takes his role very seriously. He's my go to dog, feeding me constant inspiration. Ok, maybe not, he's more like an appendage. If I have the lap top out, he is not more that two inches from me, ever. Which is tricky these days as he is bigger now and his snout takes up more of the keyboard. Sometimes he's awake and watching my every blog, but most of the time he's out like a light.

It's nice to have an editor, so if you ever have an issue about content, you can talk it over with someone. Not sure where or if to post that picture, no problem, there's always a second opinion. So if there are ever random pictures of torn up stuffed animals, half chewed bones or squirrels (not half chewed) on this blog, all comments can be addressed to 'Muzzy'.

Monday, March 8, 2010

This is how I spent Friday night, helping Steve with the On Target trailor. He was set up in Niles this weekend at a hunting and fishing expo. It went really well, tons of kids came, I showed them how it's done. No, I helped them, but I did have fun in between waves. We got some press this weekend, two T.V. news interviews and lots of free radio advertising. It's so fun to see the kids try this, they light up when they get the hang of it. Many of our good friends volunteered with us to help cover all the hours. Expos are time consuming, but worth the effort I'm thinking. We're still figuring out the balance, the learning curve is steep, but rewarding and fun too. This will be full time for us someday soon, we hope.

It's good for me to shoot, it is my literal reminder of what my target is. It sounds corny but it's easy to lose sight of what you're aiming for. If your stance is wrong, or your arm is bent, that arrow will not reach the bulls-eye. You have to use the mental check list to fix the problems. You learn things in order for a reason, events happen, not by accident but instead to give you the perspective you need to make a better shot. I'm currently retraining my eyes so that I can shoot with my stronger arm. If that's not a metaphor for life I don't know what is.

A morning of meal planning, color choosing, and just general recovery from a very big weekend requires a lovely morning snack, don't you think? I think this one will get me through the day. There is no better combination than this. Added bonus, pms cure-all. Sorry male readers, I promise to never say that again, but it was a couple of you that hooked me on these little dark chocolate niblets of sin. Miley and Billy Ray would love that line, by the way. So now the week starts, ready or not. It's a list making week, and you know how much I hate making lists. But as my overachieving husband always says, "I love a girl with a list". So honey, this one's for you.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Baked these today, Margaret's special oatmeal cookies. They were great! I ate a lot of them. I had some help, as you can see. And those of you who follow this blog, all 5 of you, know that no girl in the scott house wears a gray sweatshirt. So if you have deduced that this must be indeed a little boy, you are right. I'm watching a friends little boy today, he is very sweet, and likes my cookies. He has a very cool faux hawk as well. I was actually taking this picture sans hand before he got hungry, but I think it turned out pretty cute. This recipe is from my favorite cook book, "The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen." I use it probably twice a week, thanks to my friend Jeff.

The dishes are W.S. George, that I've been collecting for many years, the table cloth is my favorite vintage cloth.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

When child number two saw child number one in the post yesterday, well you can imagine that child two was not thrilled. So without further ado, here is number two, Taryn a.k.a. my clone. She proves that God does have a sense of humor. It's like watching myself grow up, outside my body. I know, that doesn't really make any sense. She is equal parts sweet and stubborn with a little sass thrown in for good measure. She makes us laugh, she makes us...not laugh, just keeping it positive people. She is pretty cute though, but I'm not calling myself cute when I say that or anything...oh, you know what I mean.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Ten years ago today, this beautiful girl was placed in my arms not covered in goo, but swaddled lovingly by her birthmother. It was a gift like no other. She spoke calmly to me, telling me when the baby ate last, when her last diaper was changed, how to record all of that information on the nurses clipboard. She took care of her baby bravely until we could get to the hospital. She didn't cry, not in front of us anyway, although we were crying enough tears to fill the Grand Canyon. There was no fanfare, no celebrating relatives, just a quiet transferring of the parental mantel. Self-less love, which is the best kind. This is Myah, a ten year old. Happy Birthday Jillian Jigs we all love you very much, and I hope you have a two-donut day!

About Me

I love spending time at home where everyone and everything I love is close by. There is one husband, two girls, two hounds, and more dishes that anyone should be able to own, under this roof. I'm pretty easy to please, a simple girl who desires to serve others always, and what would I serve them? Why donuts of course.